BRATTLEBORO — For more than three decades, stained-glass artist Rick Neumann has been refining his craft - the ancient art of delicate stained glass creations - through the design, application, and restoration of glass artworks with business and life partner Liza King.
Neumann honed his craft as a Windham College student and went on to study at the well-respected Condon Studios in Connick, Greenland. He has worked exclusively with stained glass since 1972.
Their studio on Strand Avenue, small by design, offers a variety of applications and services. What sets their work apart, however, are the old-world techniques they have adopted: kiln-fired paint work, mouth-blown glass, acid etching, silver staining, and firing and leading of glass.
The couple applies these techniques to custom and craft-style windows, lamps and light boxes, and traditional Victorian-era rose designs, as well as more modern, geometric designs and pieces.
Primarily self-taught, Neumann traveled the country, completing restoration projects in New York, Boston, and California. He would eventually open his first studio on Arch Street in 1995, before relocating in 1978 to his current studio location, a beautiful 19th-century church.
"We happened to live right across the street from the church," Neumann says. "It was our good fortune that we happened to be in the right place at the right time because the church seemed the perfect location."
Around this time, Neumann connected with King, then a Marlboro College student. King turned her talents in drawing and painting to stained glass after joining forces with Neumann.
"I studied drawing and painting early on, and worked at the thrift store in town," King says. "When I met Rick, I already had some interest in stained glass but really thought it was a lost art, not realizing that there were still artists out there working with glass.”
“Therefore, realizing through Rick's work that stained-glass artistry was still viable, I quickly became interested in combining my painting skills with Rick's expertise in glass," King adds.
Neumann and King are both juried artists and members of both The Vermont Council of the Arts and the League of N.H. Craftsmen.
"The art of stained glass is ageless and timeless," Neumann said. "We strive to uphold and incorporate that old-world aspect with our own talents and design ideas, creating a bridge between the two."
Neumann Studio's extensive repertoire of work in New England and around the country is well documented, with many public and private windows and artistic pieces to the couple's credit.
Neumann has worked on complete restorations of many major stained-glass projects around the country, including the Commonwealth School in Boston and the Berkley City Club in California. Local commissions include St. Charles Parish and the Readmore House Inn in Bellows Falls, the First Baptist Church in Brattleboro, and the Northfield Mount Hermon Chapel.
"We use time-tested materials and traditional restoration techniques," Neumann added. "We pay careful attention to every detail by honoring the integrity of the original work before removing the original window. Also, our understanding of window construction ensures that the newly installed window will last for generations to come."
Neumann and King also seek out original public, private, and residential projects.
"We really enjoy the interaction with a client for a private, residential project," King says. "We get to see the surrounding environment of the piece or window, which allows for proper design ideas.”
“But also we get to talk with the clients, who often have some of their own ideas about what they envision,” King adds. The studio recently completed a custom Chinese landscape window for such a client.
“We are also very interested in doing public pieces as well,” King says, and the studio is discussing plans to create a new window for an addition at Springfield Hospital.
“That would be a wonderful project to do because stained glass has a real spiritual feel and effect, which would be ideal for a hospital setting,” King says. “We love doing public pieces to help show that stained glass is not a lost art at all."